The world's atmosphere in a few clicks: The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service's new catalogue

Marking a year since the launch of the operational service, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) launched its new service catalogue during the inaugural General Assembly of CAMS that was held on June 14th, 15th and 16th in Athens, Greece. This new interactive online catalogue will provide policy-makers, scientists, businesses and citizens with an enhanced, freely accessible array of customisable and “live” maps and charts in just a few clicks.

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) has been providing operational services since July 2015. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which has been entrusted by the European Commission with the implementation of the service, has presented the new CAMS service catalogue during the celebration of the first annual CAMS General Assembly in Athens (Greece) which took place between 14th and 16th of June and brought together officials and policy-makers, representatives of the scientific and business communities as well as European Commission staff.

Dr. Vincent-Henri Peuch, Head of the CAMS highlighted that: “To sum up this major improvement, any user will find in one place the data they need with just a few clicks, and be able to display them instantly on a live map of the world”.

The new CAMS interface provides dynamic visualisations, without the need to download data or the use of specialist tools or software. It gives users access to maps, charts, animations and local time series based on information about atmospheric chemistry, as generated by the Copernicus programme.

The catalogue allows users to easily locate and access the many CAMS products, be they data, maps or documents. It includes an intuitive search system, improved filtering and clear display of the resulting information.

It marks an important step in broadening access to the wealth of CAMS data, as part of Copernicus’ mission to increase our understanding of – and adaptation to - the changing environment, through world-leading science and technology.

To learn more about the new CAMS catalogue, please refer to the video below:

First General Assembly of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service

The General Assembly of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, held in Athens in June 2016, was organised by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), with support from the Research Centre for Climatology of the Academy of Athens, the National Hellenic Meteorological Service and the Mariolopoulos-Kanaginis Foundation for Environmental Sciences.

Over the course of the three-day event, participants were briefed on the economic opportunities that the Copernicus Earth Observation Programme and its Atmosphere Monitoring Service have to offer to Europe, and how the programme is acting as a game-changer for policy-making, urban planning, industrial development, and societal sectors such as water, health and energy.

The potential impact of big data related to the Earth's atmosphere to improve resilience and jump-start sustainable economic growth was one of the main pillars of the Athens Summit. This topic was selected on the basis of the COP21 briefing document published by ECMWF and entitled “How can big data help us live in a changing environment?”, which showcases the significance and potential of the Copernicus programme.

Specific sessions were devoted to the service and its upgrades (as the new CAMS service catalogue), user experiences (testimonials and case studies), hands-on training, and brainstorming on the future of the service, including future user requirements.